Arduamis
Arduamis is a grouping of six, mostly barren, regions in the central land mass on Zenith, created by the God Itheretan. It is most famously home to the slave Empire of The Ardu. Arduamis has an unusually hot, sunny and dry climate. Average temperatures are high in the south west but very to extremely high in the rest of the regions during summer. The cooler winds from the sea consistently blow over the eastern regions, which helps to get more moderated temperatures, especially at the height of the summertime. Ramala Ramala is the northern region of Arduamis. Ramala is a broad, flat region of desert covered with wind-swept sand, or sand dunes, with little or no vegetative cover. The sand seas and dune fields generally occur downwind of copious sources of dry, loose sand, such as dry riverbeds and deltas, floodplains, glacial outwash plains, dry lakes, and beaches. Almost all major dunes are located downwind from river beds in areas that are too dry to support extensive vegetative cover and are thus subject to long-continued wind erosion. Sand from these abundant sources migrates downwind and builds up into very large dunes where its movement is halted or slowed by topographic barriers to windflow or by convergence of windflow. By nature, dunes are very active. Smaller dunes form and migrate along the flanks of the larger dunes and sand ridges. Occasional precipitation fills basins formed by the dunes; as the water evaporates, salt deposits are left behind. Resources Notable Locations Alharu Alharu is the central-most region of Arduamis. Alharu has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. Like Ramala, Alharu is a broad, flat region of desert, but covered by few smaller sand dunes. Drainage of the desert is by dry valleys, seasonally inundated pans and the large salt pans of Lashay. A semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains, Alharu supports more animals and plants than Ramala. Resources Notable Locations Lashay Lashay is the south western region of Arduamis, and the most barren region. It makes up the majority of the largest salt flat on Zenith. Lashay was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered with a solid salt crust varying in thickness between tens of centimeters and a few meters, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average elevation variations within one meter over the entire area of Lashay. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine. Flora and Fauna are very sparse in this region. Resources * Salt Notable Locations Bihara Bihara is the south eastern region of Arduamis. It has a much cooler climate than the majority of Arduamis, due to the eastern sea winds and a large network of rivers and lakes, which flood plains have developed from. Soils are high in nutrients throughout Bihara, allowing for a wider range of flora which cannot survive in other regions. A gradient of soil depth across the plains results in changes in the herbaceous community and taller grass. Acacia species vary over this range, their distribution determined by edaphic conditions and soil depth. Bihara plains are punctuated by granite and gneiss outcroppings known as kopjes. These outcroppings are the result of volcanic activity which now provide a microhabitat for non-plains wildlife. Resources * Timber * Wheat * Ivory * Glass * Glowstone Jewellery * Coldsteel Jewellery * Rapphire * Rapphire Helmets Notable Locations * City of Albina Jabal Jabal is the north eastern region of Arduamis. Like Bihara, Jabal has a much cooler climate than the majority of Arduamis, due to the eastern sea winds and a network of rivers from sandstone mountains to the sea. Jabal is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes and rock caves. The eroded sandstone landscape of this region was formed from depositions that accumulated on the bottom of the sea. Large rivers carried sand and other eroded debris into the sea. Rough quartz sand, clay and fine marl sank and became lithified layer by layer. A compact sandstone sequence developed. The tremendous variety of shapes in the sandstone landscape is a result of the subsequent chemical and physical erosion and biological processes acting on the rocks formed from those sands laid down. Resources * Sandstone * Gold * Ruby * Glass * Coldsteel * Jewellery * Glowstone Jewellery * Coldsteel Jewellery * Rapphire * Rapphire Helmets Notable Locations * City of Madina Alsafana Alsafana is the north western region of Arduamis. It is covered with a wide variety of flora and fauna, due to its cooler climate. Like Bihara, a gradient of soil depth across the plains results in changes in the herbaceous community and taller grass. Acacia species vary, their distribution determined by edaphic conditions and soil depth. The plains are punctuated kopjes which are the result of volcanic activity which now provide a microhabitat for non-plains wildlife. Alsafana is home to a large extinct volcano at it's centre, known as Mount Azraq. It is topped by a broad plateau at 3,800 metres. The mountain is drained by a network of rivers and streams leading to the western sea. Resources * Sapphire * Timber * Wheat * Glass * Glowstone * Coldsteel * Glowstone Jewellery * Coldsteel Jewellery * Rapphire * Rapphire Helmets Notable Locations * Mount Azraq * City of Shamal Category:Geography